Milo Ventimiglia (Jess Mariano) continues his latest television run with an upcoming role in the Batman prequel series, Gotham.

He will play Jason Lennon AKA The Ogre and as you might guess from his nickname, he’s a bit of a bad egg. A devilled egg, even. Gotham‘s Ogre is described as handsome, wealthy and seductive. So far, so Christian Gray. But he’s also a serial killer preying on the young women of Gotham, seducing them, then confronting them with a series of “tests” as he searches for his perfect mate. Less Christian Gray, more Christian Bale, then. In American Psycho that is, not in real life.

So Milo goes from bad boy in Stars Hollow to bad boy in Gotham… I’m sure I’ve said this before, but I would pay good money to see Milo doing something less baddie and more funny. We know he’s got the comic chops – remember when he got beaked? Or dressed as Luke, placing the pepper pot ever so daintily?

How do you think Milo would look donning the cowl and playing Batman? This would offer up a whole other Gilmore parallel universe since Jared Padelecki (Dean Forester) was once offered the cape in Superman: FlyBy – which was eventually disbanded and superceded with 2013’s Man Of Steel. And there was an episode of Justice League where Batman and Superman fought over Lois Lane’s affections – a natural fit for Alexis Bledel AKA ace reporter, Rory Gilmore.

I’d prefer Rory Gilmore as Barbara Gordon / Batgirl / Oracle and Lorelai would as Wonder Woman. She ticks the boxes on so many levels – the blue eyes, the dark hair, the butt-kicking… and her shoulders in that costume… fuhgedaboutit.

I would pit them against evil genius Lex Luthor (Taylor Doose), the Riddler (Kirk) and The Joker (Emily Gilmore). Or perhaps Emily as Black Canary because… y’know – those legs in stockings… ’nuff said.

If you’re not already watching Gotham, will you be catching up before Milo’s appearance in episode 19? At the current schedule, it’ll be aired in early March.

Answer: Yes, but we don’t see them often. She wears a thin-framed pair twice in season 2, then upgrades to a bolder frame in seasons 4 and 5. Did you notice that when Lorelai wears glasses, dogs are more likely than not to come up in conversation?

In season 2, Lorelai is not-so-secretly listening in on Rory’s phone conversation with Max – while he lists a choice of wedding rings. Max recognises Lorelai’s panting, yelping dog noises because he’s, like, a professor and everything:

Cujo was a crazy scary rabid dog in a Stephen King book and an 80’s horror movie … and re-appears in season 4 when Lorelai again has her glasses, in Luke’s Diner during one of his particularly prickly moods:

Lorelai: Days. You’ve been stomping around, barking at people for days.Luke: I have not.Lorelai: Yes, Cujo, you have.Luke: I always talk to people like that.Lorelai: No, Benji, you don’t.Luke: I’ll be fine tomorrow.Lorelai: Really, Lassie? Why is that?s04e05 The Fundamental Things Apply

Cujo:2, every other movie dog: 1

For the sake of completeness, behold the other two spectacular outings: From season 2’s Secrets and Loans (Luke gives Lorelai a loan, Lane forgets her pom) and season 5’s We Got Us a Pippi Virgin! (Lorelai discovers the explanation behind Richard’s spangly waistcoat, Emily acquires a panic room). Relatedly, Lane briefly appears WITHOUT glasses in the Pippi episode as she, Zack and Brian shave and brush their teeth around the kitchen sink. Co-incidence? No such thing as co-incidence, my friend.

Second pop quiz! Does Lorelai wear contact lenses?

This one’s a trick question. In the pilot episode, Lorelai appears to wear contacts:

Sookie: I can’t afford a new stove! Those things are expensive.Lorelai: Sookie, please, I am begging you, please, pull yourself together, OK? I got no sleep last night and I think I put my contacts in backwards.

What do you think, conspiracy theorists? Was Lorelai abducted by aliens and switched out mid-season for a clone with perfect vision? Was she temporarily befuddled by Rachel blatantly coming on to her (‘You’ve got amazing eyes’ – COME ON)? Was her ‘backwards contacts’ comment just a flippant statement for comedic value? Rumour has it, there is precedent for this.

Did she get LASIK but continue to wear glasses because they – somehow – make her even sexier? On second thoughts, she can’t have had LASIK or we’d have had this play out in reverse…

Theories welcomed below. Also, which were your favourite pair of glasses and do you think she looked better, worse or just different? What about Lane and her glasses: Better with… or without? That’s with… or without? And did you see what I did with ‘spectacular’ back there?

Last week, Lauren Graham (Lorelai Gilmore) was interviewed on Late Night with Seth Meyers talking about the series finale of Parenthood.

There’s a wonderful moment (from the 1 minute 40 second mark) where Seth mentions Gilmore Girls for the first time in the interview and the live studio audience erupts into a spontaneous ovation of whooping and hollering. It gave me tingles. Check it out:

She talks about how with Parenthood, they knew it was the end, so everyone had a chance to appreciate the moment, sentimentalize and have some closure. Whereas Gilmore Girls was quite the opposite.

Lauren: I was in a restaurant and I had turned my phone off, cause that’s polite. The waiter comes to the table and he was like, ‘Are you Lauren Graham?’ I was like, ‘Yes!’ He goes, ‘Your agent’s on the phone!’ I thought I was in a ’40s movie or something. I was like, walking to the house phone. I was like, ‘Hello?’ and he goes [grubby voice] ‘It’s cancelled,’ and that’s how I found out that it was the end.

Depressing, right?

I had the same feeling watching the DVD Extra which features Keiko Agena (Lane Kim) filming a behind-the-scenes day of filming Gilmore Girls. She has a live crew following her around makeup, her trailer, the sets and her dialogue training and she keeps saying it’s her last day on season 7 – but she doesn’t realise it’s her last day of shooting on Gilmore Girls, EVER. Her day doesn’t end in tears or with any fanfare, she just has a little hug with Todd Lowe (Zack Van Gerbig) at the end of their kitchen scene and that’s it. She goes back to her trailer then presumably heads off into the sunset on her hotwickedcool motorbike.

The end really did come out of the blue. But rather than lament the loss, I’m looking forward to the ATX Reunion later this year.

Do you whoop every time someone mentions Gilmore Girls? I do hope it’s not just me. Just how upset are you that there may never be another episode? Did you watch that DVD extra amazed at how fast they were spitting out the lines by the end of the coaching? Crazy crazy stuff…

One of my favourite Lorelai-isms is her use of the word ‘Dirty’. It pops up (dirty!) throughout the seven seasons and in one word, captures both her fun-loving childish side as well as her grown-up-ness-ness.

From humble beginnings…

Luke: By the way, you do tell people that you’re the one that named my toolbox, right?Lorelai: Toolbox, dirty.Luke: Oh geez.

Bonus point for the first person to tell me the name of Luke’s toolbox. On to one of my personal favourites, conjuring naughtiness out of thin air:

Luke: Go one day without coffee.Lorelai: That’s not giving up.Luke: I’ll put a toy in your cereal.Lorelai: Dirty!

And a stunning one-two, in a town meeting no less:

Taylor: You really have to work on your punctuality, Lorelai. I banged the meeting in a half an hour ago.Lorelai: Uh, dirty!Taylor: All right now, the last order of business is a matter relating personally to me, therefore I’m going to give Miss Patty my gavel.Lorelai: Again, dirty!Taylor: Stop that.

By season 3, other people are doing it without her (ooh dirty):

Rory: We like tacos.Lorelai: Yes, we do. [reads] “You haven’t had a taco until you’ve spent some time at Hector’s, crisp and meaty – ”Rory: … dirty.Lorelai: Thank you.

And a couple to finish from Luke:

Luke: Well, if you have a big one you don’t need a small one. [Lorelai opens her mouth] Don’t say ‘dirty’, it’s too easy.

The Time magazine website (which for me has been a legitimate news source ever since they put Taylor Swift on the cover – what took you so long?) has an interview with Lauren Graham (Lorelai Gilmore), looking forward to the imminent last episode of Parenthood on January 29 and reflecting back on Gilmore Girls.

A good chunk of the interview is about Gilmore Girls and all of that is satisfyingly positive. This bodes well for the ATX reunion in June as well as upbeat commentaries on the 10-year anniversary Blu-Ray boxed set. The boxed set is a recurring dream of mine. It tap-dances on my shelf, magically launches discs through the air into the player and dazzles me with new content and a secret hidden season eight.

Some choice tit-bits from the article:

TIME: Do you look back on Gilmore Girls as something that defined you as an actress?Lauren: Yeah and happily so. I didn’t realize then how perfect a fit that was for me in terms of material and sensibility. As much as I have loved this job and this character [on Parenthood], I feel like Gilmore Girls was just a special match. It’s hard to find a writer with that specific of a voice. I’m super thankful to have had it.

TIME: How much are you like Lorelei as a person? (sic)Lauren: No one talks that much or that long, but it’s that thing where you read something and it just clicks. It’s like music. I could hear what [creator] Amy [Sherman-Palladino] intended and it made complete sense to me. I remember an interview with Christopher Reeve where he said, “I choose my jobs based on the feeling that I can’t stand the thought of anyone else doing it.” And that’s how I felt with that. It’s a rare chemistry.

They also ask her which boyfriend Rory should have ended up with – and she gives an answer! (of sorts).

With deepest sadness we report that Edward Herrmann, the actor who so memorably portrayed Richard Gilmore, passed away on the morning of New Year’s Eve in a hospital in New York, aged 71.

Lauren Graham (Lorelai Gilmore): My friend Ed Herrmann was the kindest, classiest, most talented man. It was an honor and a joy to know him, a devastating blow to lose him.@thelaurengraham on Twitter

Edward had been battling brain cancer and in intensive care for the last three weeks, TMZ reports. His condition did not improve and he was taken off the respirator yesterday.

Richard Gilmore’s fluctuating health led to some of the most poinient moments in the show. Remember putting your hands over your mouth when he’s giving a lecture and keels over sideways? Or Lorelai standing at the foot of his post-angina attack hospital bed unable to tell him… well unable to speak. Which is kind of how I feel right now.

Amy Sherman-Palladino (creator of Gilmore Girls): Ed Herrmann was a towering presence who filled the room with grace, laughter, Chekhov references and several salty stories. He was our patriarch… Gilmore Girls would not exist without Ed. There really are no words.Speaking on Variety

After recent appearances in Black Box, The Good Wife and The Town That Dreaded Sundown, his final feature will be in Coach of the Year, currently in post-production and slated for release in 2015.

David Sutcliffe (Christopher Hayden): Sad to hear about the passing of Ed Herrmann, aka Richard Gilmore from Gilmore Girls. Great man, great actor. He will be missed.@SutcliffeDavid on Twitter

Edward Herrmann is survived by his wife Star Hayner and two daughters, Emma and Ryan. Also his stepson, chef Rory Herrmann.

Kelly Bishop: We, the Gilmore Girls family, are so terribly sad and somewhat stunned. We only learned about his illness a week or so ago. I got a call from Star Monday night asking if I wanted to come to the hospital to say good-bye. I went yesterday and was able to give Ed love from Lauren, Alexis and Amy… I have so many fond memories of our time together on Gilmore Girls and since, mainly via email. I think everyone who knew or worked with Ed found him to be absolutely delightful… Everything looks a little dim, as if the lights went down.

Here’s a snapshot that sums up all the best stuff about Gilmore Girls at Christmas.

Although… it was taken after Christmas, Lorelai doesn’t get her way and the girls don’t have money enough for retail therapy.

Lorelai: I melted three entire candy canes into this not-very-large cup of coffee, and still I can barely taste it… I swear I could get the same effect if I put Vaporub on my chest and drank coffee at the same time.

OK so maybe not the best Christmas ever but in the spirit of appreciating what we have, we have coffee, kick-ass Christmas sweaters and those beautiful baby blues. If I only had those things in my stocking, I’d be a happy camper.

Merry Christmas my turtle doves and sincere Best Wishes to you and yours for the Holiday season, for 2015 and for all that the New Year may bring.